Park-to-Park looks to overcome a hurdle

Huntsville Forester

SEGUIN TWP - Trails bring tourists, but they also cost money to maintain.
The Park to Park Trail Association, which oversees a massive range of trails from Killbear to Algonquin Park, was at Seguin Council Monday night to obtain a little assistance in the maintaining, improving and policing of their trails. The organization, which has been in operation since 2001, was requesting the funds to turn itself into a sustainable entity with well-developed and profitable trails.
Jack Tynan, chair of Park to Park, said the organization has struggled to cover operating costs each year.
“We have a chicken and egg dilemma,” said Tynan. “If we can put more people on the trail selling passes, we could probably pay for our operation, but we don’t have the money to put more people on the trail.”
In 2012, Park to Park was able to collect roughly $25,000 in the sale of trail passes to ATV and other motorized vehicle users of the trail. They achieved those numbers by selling the passes at a few local businesses and by stopping people on the trail over the course of a few key weekends.
Andrew Ryeland, secretary for Park to Park, told Seguin council that with a larger presence along the trail the collection of $50,000 or more from motorized vehicle users in 2013 is feasible.
“If we want it to happen we need staff. We need to put staff out on the trails to act as ambassadors and act as people who collect money from trail passes. We are modelling it on a program used by snowmobiling and we’re going to take that program so we can train people to do this properly,” said Ryeland.
On top of raising money to support the trail itself, supporters of the program say it could be used to promote things like safety on the trail as well as promoting regional tourism. They hope to use markers on the trail to teach the area’s history and promote the various townships’ unique brands.
In past years, the program has been met with acceptance by almost all of those who were stopped and sold a trail pass.
“Most people were not against what we were doing with the trail pass. They were a little embarrassed when they were caught, but, by and large, they were quite willing to take the money out of their pocket and buy a trail pass,” Ryeland said.
Park to Park’s plan is to hire one full-time temporary staff member, install an infrared trail counter, develop signage along the trail and establish an e-payment system that would allow users to pay for their pass on the trail. The projected cost requested of Seguin Township was $20,960.
David Conn, mayor of Seguin Township, said the request would be seriously discussed in the upcoming 2013 budget discussions.
“Keeping yourself afloat has been a big challenge so I know this is a major initiative to try to find a way to be financially sustainable. I guess the bottom line is, you’re asking people who are taking advantage of our incredible natural resources and trails to pay something,” said Conn. “I’m 100 per cent behind you.”
Council went over a series of possibilities to fund the project that included a loan-type system that Park to Park would repay in the event of its success.
Park to Park hopes to have the new project in place for the 2013 ATV season, which begins in April.
Following the meeting, Tynan said he was happy with the response the proposal received from council .
“They very fairly said, if this is a success will you pay us back? That only makes sense to me. If they’re going to support our project and the only request they have is we pay them back if it’s successful then that to me is a great response,” Tynan said. “I look forward to hearing what their decision ultimately is.”
For more information on Park to Park, or to pick up a trail pass, visit their website at www.parktoparktrail.com.